Ingredients
Batter
120 grams sugar
120 grams Hungarian flour
100 grams sweet almonds, blanched
4 eggs
Custard
2 egg yolks
3 deciliters of milk
60 grams of sugar
15 grams flour
10 grams butter
a touch of vanilla
Frosting
230 grams of sugar in a deciliter of water
the juice of a quarter of a lemon
a little bit of water
sliced almonds
Equipment needed
molded greased with butter and dusted with a teaspoon of icing sugar and flour mixed together
Original Italian text
Zucchero, grammi 120
Farina d'ungheria, grammi 120
Mandorle dolci, grammi 100
Uova, n. 4
crema
rossi d'uovo, N.2
latte, decilitri 3
zucchero, grammi 60
farina, grammi 15
burro grammi, 10
odore di viniglia
Directions
Blanch the almonds and dry in the sun or in the oven.
Take a third of the larger almonds and cut in half.
Cut the other almonds into slivers.
Beat the eggs and sugar together, on heat 20 degrees C for 1/4 of an hour.
Remove the mixture from the heat and add the flour, mixing gently.
Pour into a mold that has been greased with butter and dusted with a teaspoon of icing sugar and a teaspoon of flour mixed together. It is best to use a mold of a size that the cake turns out roughly four fingers high when done.
Bake at a moderate temperature.
Remove and cool.
When it has completely cooled, slice it into layers about a centimeter thick.
Make a custard with 2 egg yolks, 3 deciliters milk, 60 grams of sugar, 15 grams of flour, 10 grams of butter, a touch of vanilla.
Once the custard mixture comes to a boil, spread it on one side of each slice of the cake and then reconstruct the cake by placing one slice on top of the other.
The custard will turn out better if you first put the butter with the flour on the heat, cooking it without letting it brown. Then, when it has cooled to tepid, add the egg yolks, milk and sugar and put it back on the heat.
Now it's time to frost the outside of the cake with a glaze or icing.
Using a small saucepan, boil 230 grams of sugar in a deciliter of water until it becomes a little sticky between your fingers, but doesn't form a thread. Another way you'll be able to tell that it's done is when it stops steaming and begins to form rather large bubbles.
Remove from the flame and when it begins to cool add the juice of a quarter of a lemon and blend thoroughly with a wooden spoon and it becomes a as white as snow. Should it start to become too firm, just add a little bit of water making the consistency of a dense cream.
Once this glaze has been prepared, toss in the sliced almonds, blend well, and ice the cake with it. Use the almonds that you split in half to decorate the top, sticking them in straight up.
You can use a fruit filling instead of a custard, but with the custard the cake comes out quite delicious, so I recommend that you try it this way.
Original Italian text
Le mandorle sbucciatele, asciugatele al sole o al fuoco e, scegliendone un terzo delle piu grosse, dividete queste in due parti nei due lobi naturali; le altre tagliatele in filetti sottili.
Montale le uova e lo zucchero in una bacinella di rame o di ottone, sul fuoco alla temperatura di 20 gradi, battendole con la frustapiu di un quarto d'ora. Ritirato il composto dal fuoco uniteci la farina mescolando leggermente e versatelo in uno stampo liscio, tondo od ovale poco importa, che avrete prima imburrato e spolverizzato con un cucchiaino di zucchero a velo ed uno di farina unitiinsieme; ma sarebbe bene che lo stampo fosse di grandezza tale che il dolce, quando e cotto, riuscisse alto quattro dita circa.
Cuocetelo al forno o al forno da campagna a moderato calore e dopo cotto e ben diaccio tagliatelo all ingiro a fette sottili un centimetro.
Fate una crema con: rossi d'uovo, N.2; latte, decilitri 3, zucchero, grammi 60; farina, grammi 15; burro grammi 10; odore di viniglia, e con questa a bollore spalmate da una sola parte le fette del dolce e ricomponetelo, cioe collocatele insieme una sopra l'atra.
Ora bisogna intonacare tutta la parte esterna del dolce con una glassa, ossia crosta, e a questo effetto mettete a bollire in una piccola cazzaruola grammi 230 di zucchero in un decilitro di acqua fino al puntoche, presso il liquido fra le dita appiccichi un poco, ma senza filo, ed avrele un altro indizio della sua giusta cottura quando avra cessato di fumare e produrra larqghe gallozzole.
Allora ritiratelo dal fuoco e quando comincia a diacciare spremeteglie un quarto di limonee lavoratelo molto col mestolo per ridurlo bianco comela neve; ma se v induriesse fra mano versateci un poco d'acqua per ridurlo scorrevole come una crema al quanto densa.
Preparata cosi la glasa, buttateci dentro le mandorle a fieletti, mescolate e intonacate il dolce, e colle altre divise in due parti rifioritelo al dispora infilandole ritte.
Invece della cream potete usare una conserva di frutta, ma con la crema riesce un dolce squsito e percio vi consiglio a provarlo.
Notes
The recipe in this entry was taken from "La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene manuale Pratico per le Famiglie" compilato da Pellegrino Artusi. The book was first published in 1891. Since then many Italian editions have been published. English translations of this cookbook under the title "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well" are available. At www.archive.org Olga Ragusa's selection of recipes from Pellegrino's famous Italian cookbook can be found in its entirety (It's free to download). Her selection entitled, "The Italian Cook Book," was first published in 1945 by S.F. Vanni.... P.S. For other similar Napoletana cakes/pastries see Italy Revisited/Cakes. Photo: Mary Melfi. |
